Returning the Favour
by everlovingdeer
Summary: "Fine," he agreed before adding hastily, "The favours can't be anything outrageous – there's a line that they can't cross. And only five favours otherwise you'll be asking for a favour all the time." "You're saying that as if even you think that I'm going to win," I chimed in.
1. Returning the Favour

I had a bit of a competitive edge. So maybe that was a bit of an understatement but I liked to think that having a healthy amount of drive meant that I had the motivation to go after the things that I really wanted. But there was, of course, a downfall to it all. Like the fact that it was so easy to bait me into doing something with a few simple words. Rowena, Hugo had baited me enough times and yet I still found it difficult to resist despite knowing the truth.

Like today; Hugo had wanted to play a round of chess and he'd had no one to play with. Spying me across the great hall, he had marched over to the Ravenclaw table and set out the chessboard. He had merely said, 'I bet I could beat you in a game of chess' and that was it; I'd taken the bait.

I mean really, how stupid did he have to be to think that he could beat me in a game of chess. Over the numerous games of chess we'd played together I had beaten him _countless_ times and well, he'd beaten me the exact same number of times. The score was currently tied and that's what made the appeal of this game all the sweeter. If I won this game then I would be back in the lead and how was a girl supposed to say no to that?

Whenever we got too competitive – which we always did – we attracted spectators who were using the game to place their own bets. Within these spectators, there were members of his family who often took out bets against each other.

I stared down at the chess board, mentally calculating different moves and outcomes. After playing with Hugo for so long I had picked up the way he played and it certainly made it a little easier to guess what move he was going to play next.

"You're taking your time," Hugo piped up, making me look up to see him smirking at me.

"I've got enough time," I shot back, looking back to the board.

"Come on Stewart," Rose encouraged from behind me, squeezing my shoulder. No one bothered to mention that she had bet against her brother and certainly, no one was going to remind the Head Girl that gambling was against school policy. "I placed money on this game."

"Do you think you're the only one that did that Rosie?" Albus piped up from behind Hugo, having bet on his cousin.

"There's no way I'm losing this match Potter," Rose countered and I suppressed an eye roll.

"You're not the one playing," I reminded the older girl as I assessed the board and made my move.

Hugo leaned forward in his seat and looked to the chess board. He looked up at me briefly and I took notice of the number of people crowding around us. Had a chess game always attracted so many people's attention. Subsequent bets were placed and Hugo's hand hovered over the chess board as he thought carefully.

"Weasley," I called out to him after a moment, watching him move his piece.

"What is it, Stewart?"

"Since everyone's putting money on the game, why don't we put something on the line?" I suggested.

"A bet?" he asked uncertainly, gesturing to me when it was my turn.

"Are you scared?" I smirked, looking to my pieces and frowning when I realised he'd managed to capture one of them. Rowena, when had he managed to do that?

"Like hell am I scared." Narrowing his eyes at me, he said forcefully, "Fine, it's a bet. What are we betting?"

"Nothing big." I thought for a moment, "What about favours that the other person can't refuse? Your turn Weasley."

"Fine," he agreed before adding hastily, "The favours can't be anything outrageous – there's a line that they can't cross. And only five favours otherwise you'll be asking for a favour all the time."

"You're saying that as if even _you_ think that I'm going to win," I chimed in.

"Oh be quiet." He rolled his eyes, throwing Rose a look when she began to talk loudly from over my shoulder. "Make your move Stewart."

And suddenly the game was much more serious for me, especially with something more than my pride on the line. I looked to the chessboard and there it was – the winning move. One more move and the game was over and Rose got to keep her money. I almost felt a little bad to cut the game short but one more look at Hugo's smug expression and I suddenly didn't feel so bad.

"Checkmate," I said quietly, straightening up.

A groan ran through the students that were crowded around Hugo. The Gryffindor himself leaned forward in the seat and assessed the board only to groan moments later as he realised his blunder. Burrowing his head in his hands, he groaned even louder when Rose started to cheer. She shook my shoulders thankfully before gloating to Albus.

I grinned, and felt the pride run through me; the score wasn't even anymore. I was in the lead and in the lead, I would stay. The look on Weasleys face made it all the better. He stared at me from between his fingers and lowered his hands to his side.

"Alright Stewart," he sighed, "what's your first favour?"

"I'm sure I'll think of something."

* * *

Hugo was amazing at potions. He was far better than I was at the subject and, if you believed the Hogwarts rumour mill, he was also much better than his sister. Not that he advertised the fact. In fact he had such a blasé attitude to the subject that his grades were simply mindboggling, especially when I had to put all my efforts into maintaining _just_ above a passing grade. So to say that I thanked my lucky stars to have him assigned as my potions partner was an understatement.

He settled into the seat beside me with a sigh and asked, "You're going to make me do all the work, aren't you?"

"Of course not," I responded, affronted. Turning my textbook to the correct page, I remarked, "What kind of Ravenclaw would I be if I made you do all the work?"

"What kind of Ravenclaw struggles to pass a subject," he threw back, rising to his feet to collect the necessary ingredients as I placed the cauldron over the fire I'd lit.

"For your information, being a Ravenclaw doesn't mean I'm smart at everything and besides, since when was there only one type of intelligence?" I eyed him dirtily, "Have you never heard of intellectual curiosity? Why would I bother reading through my potions textbook when there's so many amazing discoveries that are being made every day which are _much_ more fun to read about?"

Hugo stared at me silently as he set the ingredients on the table. In the end he rolled his eyes, and held his hands up in surrender.

"Godric, forget I said anything."

"Don't push my buttons Weasley and there won't be an issue." Clearing my throat, I turned back to my open textbook and read through the instructions.

Hugo was already cutting something up and my eyes skimmed across the instructions, trying to figure out how he'd managed to get through the first four without my knowing.

"Have you thought of what your first favour will be?" he asked, throwing me a look before returning to his chopping.

"Why? Is the suspense putting you on edge?" Ribbing him lightly, I began to stir the potion as instructed by the book. "Seeing you so worried is making me want to drag it all out a little longer."

Hugo watched my movements closely and I frowned; he really didn't trust me to do anything did he? With a sigh, I dropped my hand to my side.

"If you're going to be so obsessive about the potion then why don't you do it all yourself?" Crossing my arms, I watched as he brought his eyes to my own.

"You should have been sorted into Gryffindor with that temper of yours," he muttered under his breath. "When it comes to potions you need to look at all the little details or else the potion will become messed up. And while I couldn't care less about the grade I get for this, something tells me that you want a good grade. Don't you?"

I nodded slowly, feeling strangely chastised. Hugo, turning back to his chopping board picked it up and placed the leaves into the cauldron.

"Stir it four times counter clockwise and one time clockwise."

I quickly did as instructed, reaching out to stir the potion. "You know, this potion would get done quicker if we worked together on it."

"Alright," he surveyed the ingredients laid haphazardly on the table and reaching out to snag the bottle of beetle eyes. Not seeing the way I recoiled at the sight of them, he slowly measured out the right amount into a pestle and mortar. Setting the pestle and mortar in front of me, he instructed, "Crush these into a fine powder then add a few drops of water to them to make it into a paste."

I was hesitant to reach for the pestle and mortar. Seeing this, he eyed my face curiously, leaning against the desk.

"What's going on Stewart?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"I've changed my mind," I declared quickly, "I know what my first favour is – you handle these," I looked quickly back over the instruction, "and I'll start working on the grating the necessary amount of cinnamon."

Both of his eyebrows flew into his hairline at my request. "Are you sure you want to use it for something so small? One of your favours."

"Of course I am." Picking up my wand I used it to push the pestle and mortar in his direction, "Get crushing Weasley."

"And here I was, thinking that you'd have me do something horrendous." Shaking his head slightly, he began to crush the beetle eyes and I tried my best not to gag when each of the eyes let out a squelching sound as they burst under the pressure of the pestle.

"Merlin, I can deal with anything _except_ beetle eyes," I muttered, shuddering as I risked a glimpse into the mortar. Hurriedly turning my eyes away from Hugo, I reached for the cinnamon.

"I'll have to keep that in mind," Hugo teased and I threw him a narrow-eyed glare. He raised an eyebrow, showing me the inside of the mortar in jest and I turned away in a rush.

"Don't even try it. All my extra reading has taught me some _very_ creative spells."

* * *

I still had four favours left to ask Hugo for, favours that he couldn't say no to but for the life of me, I couldn't think of something to ask him for. What was the point in having the ability to ask him for something if there wasn't anything good to use the favours on? It was all pointless if I ended up essentially wasting the four remaining favours. I couldn't go around using them for 'small' reasons like crushing beetle eyes. It would take some serious thought about what to use my next favour on.

As I walked through Hogsmeade with Ariel chatting happily at my side, I let my eyes drift to the other side of the room and they settled on Hugo as he walked into one of the shops. My eyes would have moved off from him again, had they not settled onto the group of boys he was walking with, or rather the tallest boy from that group. Keegan Thomas towered above the rest of his Gryffindor dormmates as they walked into a shop.

Pursing my lips in though, I looked back to Ariel as she continued to talk, oblivious to the plan that was already forming in my mind. Now what kind of friend would I be if I used each of the favours to benefit myself? Wasn't it right for me to use one of the favours to help my friend?

"Ariel," I called out suddenly, making her stop in her step.

"What's the matter?"

"I forgot to buy something," I said hesitantly, biting my bottom lip.

She looked down at the bags we were both holding and looked back to me with a curious tilt of her head, "But we've been inside almost every shop in Hogsmeade."

"Exactly, _almost_ every shop." Giving her my most winning smile, I pointed towards the shop Hugo and his dormmates had entered, "I need to get something from there."

"Spintwitches Sporting Needs," Ariel read the sign with a dubious glance my way, "but you don't even like sports."

"I know," I said thinking quickly, "but my brother's birthday's coming up and I need to get him something."

Linking my arm through hers I began to drag her across the road, in the direction of the shop. She cried out, confused, "But your brother's birthday has already been."

"I want to stay ahead of the gift buying," I fibbed as we walked into a shop.

I cast an uneasy glance around the shop, ducking when a snitch flew straight towards me. Merlin, who let one of those menaces run free through the shop. Well, it was better a snitch then a bludger I suppose.

"His birthday was only last month," she protested, forcefully pulling her arm from mine and making me stop trying to lead her further into the shop.

"Do you think I only have one brother?" I tried weakly.

"Yes." She nodded firmly, "you do." With a sigh, she said quietly, "If you wanted to get Weasley a present then all you needed to do was ask."

"Of all the ridiculous ideas, you could have come up with Ariel, that is the worst."

She shrugged, "What else was I supposed to think? Why else are we in here?"

"Stewart," someone called from behind me, sparing me from having to think of an excuse. I turned over to see Hugo and Thomas approaching us. "What the hell are you doing in here? This is the last place I thought I'd see you."

As the pair of boys joined us, I looked back to Ariel who had begun to avoid even glancing in Thomas' way. My eyes drifted past the pair of boys and towards the rest of their dormmates who were busy eyeing the newest design of some quidditch gloves – or something equally useless. Perfect.

I attached myself to Weasleys side and stared up at him with an innocent smile. He blinked down at me, colour rising to his cheeks from my proximity. He grumbled under his breath before asking, "What?"

"I've thought of my next favour," I said with a smile, hearing the amused chuckle Thomas gave from his new position beside Ariel. "Carry my bags up to the castle for me? My arms are killing me." Hugo looked like he was going to complain but I reminded him, "You can't say no."

He shared a look with Thomas over my shoulder before conceding with a sigh, "Fine."

"Let me come with you," Ariel offered but I quickly shook my head.

"There's no need for you to come back to the castle because of me." She frowned at my words, ignoring the way I threw a meaningful glance in Thomas' direction.

"Well I'm not walking around Hogsmeade on my own."

I pretended to think for a moment. "Thomas," I called, turning to the taller boy, "do you mind keeping her company for me? I would stay but I feel knackered."

"Sure, why not." He smiled down at Ariel who was busy glaring at me. Thomas caught her in her glaring, making Ariel clear her throat and look down to her shoes.

"Great, thank you."

Shifting my bags into Hugo's hands, I linked my arm through his and dragged him out of the shop. Ariel hissed that she'd get me back as we drifted past her but I sent her an innocent smile.

The moment we were out of the shop, and into the street I grinned at the successful execution of my plan. We walked towards the castle in a companionable silence. I politely offered to take some of the bags from Hugo but he rolled his eyes and reminded me of what my favour was and I stopped asking him. We made out way to the Ravenclaw common room when he finally let the curiosity get the better of him.

"I thought you were knackered," he called out suspiciously as we approached the common room, "but you're walking with a spring in your step."

"Because I'm not knackered," I said with a shrug as we stopped in front of the common room. "It's just that Ariel's liked Thomas for the longest time and I thought I'd use one of my favours to give them some time alone."

"I'm impressed," he declared with a nod, setting the bags down as we waited for the riddle.

 _I can bring tears to your eyes; resurrect the dead, make you smile, and reverse time. I form in an instant but I last a lifetime. What am I?_

"A memory," Hugo announced before I could, stunning me. The common room opened and he gestured for me to head inside, "Hurry up before it closes again."

I nodded, taking my bags from him. As the entrance closed behind him, I couldn't help but begrudgingly admit that Hugo had impressed me too.

* * *

The things that I agreed to do for Hugo Weasley were ridiculous. Were we good enough friends for him to ask me to walk him down to the quidditch pitch before the quidditch match? And for that matter _when_ had we become friends?

But here I was, waiting outside the Gryffindor common room as I waited for him to appear. The match against Slytherin was scheduled to begin in an hour and wasn't he supposed to be down at the pitch by now so they could have a team meeting or whatever it was that quidditch teams did before games? Was Hugo aware that he was running _very_ late and that he was risking being hexed by his sister?

The boy himself appeared moments later, rushing out of the common room dressed in his quidditch uniform. Holding his broom with one hand, he clutched his Gryffindor scarf in the other. I eyed it curiously for a moment before stepping away from the wall and towards him. He smiled at the sight of me, as I fell into step beside him.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." He fidgeted slightly, "I was looking for something and ended up running late."

"What was so important that it made you risk facing the end of your sister's wand?"

"This," he said, holding his scarf a loft. I met his eyes, raises an eyebrow in a silent question. He held it out for me to take, "Here."

"This is for me?" I questioned cautiously, he nodded and looked away from me as colour rose up his neck. "Why?"

"Well you're not supporting the Slytherin team, are you?" he asked pointedly, "There should be something to show your support."

"Isn't this enough?" Raising my hands, I wiggled my fingers to show off the red and gold nails, "Ariel said this would be enough. She did the same?"

"Well how am I going to be able to see those tiny things from the air?" he threw back as we stepped out of the castle and the cold wind hit us. I burrowed my nose into my Ravenclaw scarf. "And well, it'll be easy to spot a red and gold in a sea of blue and bronze, won't it?"

"First of all," I began pointedly, looking up at him as we approached the quidditch pitch, "I'm not just supporting you, I'm supporting the team. And what does it matter if you can't spot me in the crowd? You should be focusing on guarding the hoops, Weasley."

"Will you just wear it," he grouched, thrusting the scarf at me. He stopped in his step, waiting for me to take the scarf from him.

Removing my scarf with a sigh, I shoved it into my pockets and took his scarf. Wrapping it around my neck, I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "Happy?"

"Ecstatic."

With a roll of my eyes, I followed him as we set off towards the quidditch pitch again. As we entered the quidditch pitch, I saw the two opposing team captains on either side of the pitch as they talked to members of the team. Scanning the stands, I was surprised to see some spectators already seated and waiting for the game to begin.

Hugo went to leave my side to check in with Rose before halting halfway through the motion. Ignoring my curious eyes, he was staring at something from over my shoulder. I turned my head, trying to find the object of his attention and groaned aloud when I saw the Slytherin chaser who was watching me.

"Someone you know well?" Hugo questioned, eyes narrowing as the older Slytherin began to jog towards us.

"Do me a favour?" the words slipped past my lips quickly, "Scare him off for me, I don't care how you do it, just get him to leave me alone."

"Why?" Hugo frowned heavily, growing protective, "Has he been bothering you?"

"I'll explain later," I said from the side of my mouth as the Slytherin entered ear shot.

Hugo's frown didn't leave his face, not even when the Slytherin stopped beside us. Clearing his throat, Hugo shifted to hold his broom his shoulder with one hand and used his free hand to snag my wrist, pulling me slightly behind him.

"Carrow," Hugo greeted coolly.

"Weasley." Carrow inclined his head before looking to me with a grin, "I didn't expect to see you down at the pitch so early, Stewart."

"I came down here with Hugo," I explained quietly.

The seventh year nodded, and reached into his robe pocket. "I got something for you."

I eyed him suspiciously, eyebrows rising when he pulled out a Slytherin scarf from his pocket. He held it out for me to take and I frowned, wondering what importance a simple scarf held. Hugo, releasing my wrist, caught the other boy's hand and threw it back to his side. Carrow raised an amused eyebrow.

"Do you not see _my_ scarf wrapped around her neck?"

The two boys shared a charged look which only ended when the Slytherin team captain, Malfoy, called Carrow over towards him. When the older boy had walked away, Hugo silently turned to me and waited for my explanation.

"He approached me at the beginning of the year," I explained, "and he said something about collecting the full set?"

"The full set?" Hugo repeated slowly.

"It's ambiguous, right?" I rolled my eyes, "Apparently he's snogging girls – and then some – until he's got a full set. He's 'collecting' a pureblood, a half blood and a muggleborn in every house. He started with his year, then the sixth year and now fifth year is his final goal."

"Because fourth year and below would be creepy," Hugo hissed, throwing a glare at the Slytherin.

"Exactly and apparently I'm the missing part of the set." Putting my hands in my pockets, I frowned, "I'm the only muggleborn Ravenclaw in our year and he hasn't left me alone since he realised this."

"What a wanker." Hugo straightened his shoulders, puffing out his chest, "Don't worry, I'll deal with it."

"I never asked you to," I protested.

"Actually," he said with a smile, "you did. Now hurry up to the platform, I need to check in with Rosie."

Rowena, I hoped he wasn't going to do something stupid. I watched him jog away from me before sighing and turning towards the Ravenclaw stands. Walking up the stands, I could only fight a smile when I realised that Ariel was already waiting on the stands and she was currently talking to Thomas who hovered on his broom before her. As I settled into the space beside her, she waved him away and ignored my smile.

"You're wearing a Gryffindor scarf," she said in surprise. "Who's is it?"

"Hugo's." She turned to look in Hugo's direction with a mysterious smile. I went to say something but let the matter drop when I realised that he was talking to the Gryffindor beaters and kept gesturing in Carrow's direction.

Rowena, he really _was_ doing something stupid.

The quidditch game was as uneventful as usual and that, therefore, meant that two players fell off their brooms, Thomas got so frustrated by the Slytherin keeper that he threw he quaffle at the keeper himself who was knocked off his broom and fell through the hoop, still holding the quaffle to his chest. The point was given to Gryffindor. At the end of the game the two team captains, Malfoy and Rose, got into a heated argument because apparently the Gryffindor team had cheated in the last minute.

All I could think was that the game had lasted _way_ too long.

Once the two teams had managed to pry their arguing captains away from each other, the spectators flooded out from their seats. Some stayed to talk to the teams, some took to the castle and others snuck off together to get some alone time. I was walking with Ariel towards the Gryffindor quidditch team.

Once we were near the team, Thomas spotted her and jogged over towards her. He picked her up in a hug, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around. From over his shoulder I saw the blatant bewilderment in Ariel's expression and tried not to laugh. When he set her back on the ground, Ariel staggered away from him and cleared her throat as her entire face flushed. I grinned, watching as Thomas stepped closer to her to apologise for taking her by surprise but all she could do was squeak out for him not to step any closer or else her face might just explode into flames.

A hand was set on my shoulder, pulling my attention away from the budding romance and towards the Gryffindor keeper who was resting heavily on me. I frowned, looking him over with worried eyes.

"Stewart," he began quietly, straightening up when members of his team walked past him, "will you take me to the hospital wing?"

"Why?" I asked quietly, eyes going to the hand he had pressed to his side.

"I think I've cracked a rib when I took the bludger to my side," he confessed, lowering his voice, "I'd ask one of the team to take me but then Rosie will find out that I'm injured and she'll pull me from the team. Our next game is the final match of the year and I can't miss that!"

I shook my head in disbelief, "The extent you quidditch players will go to."

He gave me a shy smile, "Please?"

"Fine," I muttered, picking up his arm and draping it over my shoulder.

"What are you doing?" he asked in a heated whisper as I began to lead him away from the quidditch pitch. He went to take his arm away but I held it firm.

"Would you relax?" I gave him a firm look, watching as he sighed as stopped trying to pull his arm away. "You can rest some of your weight on me as we get to the hospital wing. Stop freaking out."

"Who said I was freaking out," he protested, as we approached the castle.

"No one needs to _say_ it." Rolling my eyes, I slowed my steps as he winced. "Your body reacts whenever I touch you Hugo. Rowena, you turn so red you could match your sister's hair."

He rolled his eyes but said nothing as we continued on our way to the hospital wing which was surprisingly empty, considering that a quidditch match had taken place. I helped him to one of the beds and stepped aside as he was looked over by the school mediwitch. Pomfrey, once she was done treating him, stepped away from the bed.

"I want you to stay here for the night so I can keep an eye on you," she announced, "You may leave in the morning once I've checked you, Mr Weasley."

"I can't stay," he protested, rising to his feet. "If Rosie finds out that I'm in here then I won't be able to play in the match."

"You quidditch players," she muttered with a shake of her head, "I am _not_ planning on letting you leave my care Mr Weasley. Now, if you excuse me, I have another student to check on and by the time I return I expect to see you tucked up in the bed. Am I clear?"

The moment she had walked away from his bed, Hugo rose to his feet intending to sneak out of the hospital wing. I took his hand quickly, startling him.

"Stay the night," I said quietly.

"I thought you understood," he protested.

"As a favour?" Smiling encouragingly, I asked, "Stay the night, as a favour to me?"

He sighed, dropping back onto the bed. "Using two favours in one day, are you sure?"

I nodded, "I'm sure."

"You've only got one left," he tried to convince me and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Stop trying to get me to change my mind." Pulling the duvet from the bed, I gestured for him to get in, "Now rest up Weasley, or else your sister really _will_ pull you from the team."

* * *

Once Hugo had been released from the hospital wing, Rose had been too busy packing for the upcoming holiday to remove him from the team. He had confessed the fact to me when I'd bumped into him on the train, both of us in the queue for the trolley. Apparently, his sister had threatened him that one more injury and he was going to be removed from the team and Hugo swore then that he wouldn't let himself get injured. I just nodded along, not understanding why quidditch players were willing to risk their lives for such a stupid game.

I was smart enough to keep those thoughts to myself.

The train journey home seemed to take less time than usual. Or maybe that was because I'd fallen asleep during the journey? Our entire dorm had spent most of the night talking and grilling Ariel on what was going on between her and Thomas that we hadn't slept for very long. So really, it was no surprise that we had all fallen asleep when we did.

We were woken up by the prefects dropping by each carriage to announce that we were ten minutes away from the station. I groaned, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and stretching my arms up above my head. Looking to the Gryffindor prefect that had woken me up, I furrowed my eyebrows when Hugo gestured for me to follow him out of the carriage.

"What is it?" I asked, voice croaking from not being used for a while. I cleared my throat, watching as he gestured me out as my friends woke up.

"I need to talk to you," he explained, hurrying me out and I frowned as I rose to my feet.

"Why can't you just say it in here?" I complained but followed him out of the carriage.

I expected him to start speaking the moment we left the carriage but he didn't. Instead he took my hand and silently led me towards the front of the train and ushered me into an empty carriage. I looked around the carriage, wondering why it was empty when so many students struggled to find a carriage.

"It's for the prefects," Hugo explained, shutting the carriage door behind him, "this is where we have some meetings."

"Ah, ok." Settling down on one of the seats, I eyed him expectantly as I waited for him to say something. But he didn't. He looked away from me. "Well? What exactly was it that you needed to talk to me about then?"

And still he said nothing. He began to pace up and down the length of the carriage, my eyes following his progress through the small space. Hugo appeared to be muttering something under his breath as though he was trying to psyching himself up for something and I sighed. If he was going to do all of this then why did he wake me up?

"Hugo?" I called out gently when he came to a stop in front of me. He stared down at me, face turning red as he swallowed thickly. Growing concerned, I held on his arm but he pulled away from me. "What's going on?"

"I like you," he rushed out, "and not as a friend. As – as something else."

Well. _That_ I wasn't expected. Of course, I knew how he felt – the signs were all there but I wasn't expecting him to just blurt it out. Rowena this was sudden. I thought that he'd at least wait until after the holidays so I could sort out my thoughts and figure out how I felt about him. But maybe I was overthinking things? What was there to think about anyway?

"I like you," he repeated quietly when I said nothing.

It was my turn to swallow thickly as I raised my eyes to his, "Ok."

"Ok?" he questioned incredulously, eyes widening, "What exactly does ok mean? Does it mean 'ok, thanks for telling me'? Or 'ok, I like you too'? I'm going to need something a bit more specific then that Stewart."

"Ok," I said quietly, staring up at him. "Ok, just means ok."

My words left him reeling, not knowing what to do. And maybe that was my fault for being so ambiguous on purpose but I was having fun dragging this out a little longer. I giggled quietly, rising to my feet. He watched me hesitantly as I now stood before him.

"I have one favour left," I reminded him softly.

"Are you going to use it to ask me to stay away from you?" he questioned apprehensively. He tried not to act too relieved when I shook my head. "What do you want then?"

"Stand still and close your eyes."

He eyed me suspiciously but I only stared patiently back at him. Eventually he sighed and closed his eyes. I waited a few seconds to see if he was going to open them again but he didn't. Stepping closer to him, I heard him intake a shallow breath when the front of my shoes pressed up against his own. I pressed a quick kiss to his lips, one that would have easily been missed in the blink of an eye.

He took another quick intake of air, letting it out as a long breath when I stepped away from him. "Can I open my eyes now?"

I hesitated before saying, "Yes."

He opened them, smiling down at me, "And I can move now too?" I nodded. "Perfect."

Hugo stepped towards me then, closing the distance between us and pressing another kiss to my lips. Taking my face in his hands he tilted it up towards his and held me close to him, only pulling away when the train whistle blew.

"We should leave," I reminded him, pulling regretfully away from him.

"We should," he agreed, neither of us quite willing to leave this private bubble we had in the prefect's carriage.


	2. Epilogue

_6 YEARS LATER_

After leaving Hogwarts two years ago I had entered the ministry and had been transferred to work under the Minister of Magic herself, not that she'd realised who I was until I had entered her office. Working under my boyfriend's mother was … awkward to say the least. We both tried our best to keep our professional and private lives very separate but sometimes it was easier said than done, especially when Hugo had a habit of popping into the ministry.

While working as her secretary was rewarding at times, it was also a pain in the few moments where Minister Weasley failed to suppress her maternal side. This happened more often than not when Hugo and I had argued the day before and I had apparated out from his apartment and spent the night at mine. Somehow the minister always knew about our fights and I never got round to telling Hugo to stop involving his mother in our arguments. She would wait until her schedule cleared up to call me over to try and smooth things out between us. As if the Minister of Magic interfering with my love life wasn't mortifying.

"Sweetheart?" I started at the affectionate nickname, looking from my desk to the doorway where Hugo was stood, leaning against it with one shoulder. "What would mum say if she saw you daydreaming?"

"She's in a meeting right not," I said as he walked towards my desk. "She's busy so come back to see her later."

"What makes you think I'm here to see her and not you?" Raising an eyebrow, he leaned down to press a kiss to my lips. The door to his mum's office opened before he could kiss me and I hurriedly pushed him away from me. He faltered back, eyes snapping open in shock.

I cleared my throat, cheeks colouring when I realised the minister and head of the auror department were watching us. Rowena, it just _had_ to be his mother and his uncle, didn't it? Looking back to my work, I pretended to shuffle some papers around.

"I'll see you later Harry," Minister Weasley said as she waved goodbye to her long-time friend. Auror Potter patted his nephew on the back as he walked past him and I resolutely avoided the teasing grin he threw my way. Clearing her throat, Minister Weasley turned her attention to her son, "Hugo – what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work?"

"I've got the day off," he reminded his mother as he gestured to me with his arm. Minister Weasley looked over at me and I couldn't meet the older woman's eyes. "Can I steal your assistant for lunch?" Hugo looked to the clock, "It's time for her lunch break, right?"

"It is," the older woman agreed slowly before looking back to me. "Why don't you go and take a break, Miss Stewart?"

I rose to my feet, and began to speak hesitantly, "Minister –"

"It's fine," she assured me with a wave of her hand as she turned to head back into her office, "Besides, I need to meet my husband for lunch too." Before stepping into her office, she narrowed her eyes at her son, "Have her back in time Hugo."

"Yes mum."

The moment Minister Weasley had headed into her office, Hugo was by my desk, taking my hand and pulling me away from it. I hurriedly grabbed my wand and bag, letting him pull me away.

"You know, you should start owling me whenever you're going to drop by the ministry," I said pointedly, staring up at him as he apparated us away. We reappeared moments later outside a restaurant which he led me into.

"Why?" he frowned.

"You have no idea how awkward you make things for me and your mum when we're at work," I muttered as we settled down at a table.

"I make things awkward? How?"

"Rowena Hugo," I rolled my eyes. "How awkward would it be for you if you worked under _my_ dad and I kept stopping by the office."

He made a face after thinking it over for a few moments. "Fine," he relented, "I'll owl from now on."

"Thank you."

Hugo opened the menu, reading over it and throwing occasional glances my way. I frowned, reaching out to put a hand on his arm.

"Hugo, what's wrong?"

He fiddled with the corner of the menu and spoke hesitantly, "Mum's got a business trip coming up. She needs to speak with the Spanish minister of magic about something and she needs one of her assistants to go with her –"

"No way." I shook my head, "No way in hell am I going with your mother."

"It's not like I'm asking you to go on _holiday_ with her. It's a work thing." He leaned towards me, trying his best to smile convincingly. "Besides, you're the most senior assistant. She said she'd ask you sometime this week and between the two of us, she wants you to go with her because she thinks you're the most competent out of the whole department. And well she wants the two of you to…bond."

"Hugo –"

He gave an exaggerated sigh, "I _really_ didn't want to do this. But I'm going to use one of my favours on this."

Silence. I stared at him, wondering what I was supposed to say to that because really, there was nothing I could say. Not when we had made a bet and he had won five favours that I couldn't say no to. Merlin's bollocks, _why_ did I make that bet in the first place?

"I knew I shouldn't have made that bet," I muttered under my breath, thinking back to the quidditch match we'd attended over the weekend.

We had bet on different teams to win and because I knew next to nothing about quidditch, I didn't know who was playing for each team. How was I supposed to know that both male Potters played on the same quidditch team – the one I had bet against? Quidditch literally made up part of their blood and Merlin the team I had bet against had one of the best chasers and best seekers in the entire league. It was no wonder they had won. If I had known then I wouldn't have agreed to Hugo's proposed bet. But I didn't know and so I had agreed. I was certain that it counted as cheating.

Hugo grinned, ignoring my glare as he reached out to hold my hand. "Great, I'll tell mum that you agreed to go with her."


End file.
